Hamilton must work on 'attitude problem' - Mansell

Lewis Hamilton did not achieve his goal of staying out of trouble at Suzuka this weekend.

The troubled McLaren driver, who according to eyewitnesses was visibly upset as he addressed the media on Thursday, had vowed to move on from his Singapore scrap with Felipe Massa.

Nigel Mansell FIA Race Steward

Photo by: xpb.cc

But after qualifying, Hamilton slammed Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber for "ridiculous" out-lap attacks at the Triangle chicane that led to him failing to post a final flying lap in Q3.

Afterwards, as he posed for the photographers alongside Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, the Briton was obviously angry and said he didn't know "what the hell" Schumacher and Webber were doing.

But Schumacher said it was "stupid" to be driving so slowly in the race against the Q3 clock, with Webber adding: "The team were saying 'come on, get on with it, we're running out of time'.

"Lewis tried to block, but I kept going."

Much later, Hamilton admitted the saga was "my mistake".

Nigel Mansell said he thinks it was the latest instalment in his fellow British world champion's tumultuous season.

"Lewis has to work on an attitude problem," the 1992 title winner told the Daily Mail. "He needs to get his head in a better place.

"You have to manage your car better than Lewis has done on too many occasions this season. Too many times he has positioned his car where he has caused an incident."

And Hamilton also needs to rethink how he reacts after such mistakes, Mansell added.

"He needs somebody who he respects to tell him on occasions that this is how it is and this is how you should conduct yourself. At times, Lewis doesn't always engage his brain before his mouth."